Dear Zach Braff, You Are Rich And Famous And Don’t Need Kickstarter

It has come to my attention that another rich, famous celebrity has taken to crowdsourcing siteÂ Kickstarter to beg for money. This time, indie auteurÂ Zach BraffÂ is asking for $2 million to fund a companion film to Garden State, a totally underground, little-known art house project (that grossed $35 million). The underground underdog of cinema isn’t interested in financial backers who would interfere with his creative vision for Wish I Was HereÂ – Braff, who once played a pizza guy on primetime television’sÂ Cougartown, is no sell out! He doesn’t want the same corporate suits who write his checks telling him what to do! In fact, in a very expensive looking video attached to the fundraiser, Braff basically admitsÂ he turnedÂ down millions of dollars to fund his project so that he could preserve his artistic integrity.

Kickstarter is a great way for people without overflowing resources to finance their projects and pursue their dreams. But celebrities do haveÂ the right resources and connections to produce their projects; someone like Zach Braff asking his fans for money comes across as a phony PR ploy to seem indie.

The problem is that there are actual independent, broke-as-fuck filmmakers using Kickstarter. They don’t have the luxury of avoiding Hollywood big bucks in order to preserve their visions…their visions are all they have. Unlike Braff, they usually don’t raise $300 grand right off the bat because no one has heard of them, they haven’t been on primetime television, they haven’t already made million dollar pictures and they don’t have a million twitter followers. They offer what they can as incentives to potential donors, but they can’t offer the sorts of rewards that stars like Braff canÂ afford.Â Theirs are usually a pamphlet or a role in a film Â that may not get made, which of course won’t have the cache of a Zach Braff joint. But for a mere $10,000, you can have a role inÂ Wish I Was Here! Honestly, whoever wants their dollars and face in this ridiculous project deserves it.

Beyond the guise of “artistic integrity”, let’s not forget that Kickstarter is the perfect way to find investors with no equity in the project. All profits will go directly to Zach Braff. That’s the part that is absolutely sickening.

http://www.facebook.com/sameurysm Samantha Escobar

I CANNOT GET OVER HOW SILLY THAT PHOTO IS.

Fabel

YES I was coming here to say, that douche-y photo is just magnifying my already-burning dislike for him. Zach Braff, why are you?

http://www.facebook.com/sameurysm Samantha Escobar

I want “Why are you?” to be a question I ask people all the time. Fabel, you are brilliant.

len132

I totally agree. It seems like lately people have been getting really upset about various kickstarter projects. I don’t see why they should be a big deal. If people don’t think that the project is worth it, they won’t fund it. And if it does get funded, it’s no skin off my nose.

And pointing out that there are people who are broke and just have a vision doesn’t really work for me. Anyone who is donating to Braff’s project is probably doing it because they like him or like his movies. Those people are not just picking any movie project and giving money to it. They’re giving money to Braff or no one.